Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

The inner quarters of the Wu King's residence.

Next to Li Rui's dormitory, there is a small wooden house on a raised platform.

A copper pipe extends from the roof and the side, connecting to the boiler in the small kitchen. Water is heated here, and the steam travels through the pipes to the other end, providing warmth and relief from fatigue.

Li Rui is afraid of the cold, and in winter he would stay inside for half an hour at a time. Now that it's only early autumn, the steam room has been put into use again.

The servant in the small kitchen carried several pieces of wood and stuffed them into the stove. The foreman slapped him on the back of the head.

"You idiot! Put out the fire again and go add water! Old Xu, come and watch the stove!"

"Hey, it's coming!"

Several more bundles of firewood were delivered from outside. The foreman directed two servants to place them against the wall and told them to bring more.

The cabin was shrouded in mist, like a fairyland, but for Yuan Zhi, it was her graveyard.

The servants carried her here, untied her, took the trunk, and locked the door.

At first, Yuan Zhi thought that the King of Wu just wanted to trap her, but when the steam came out, she suddenly realized that Li Rui wanted to steam her alive!

She pounded on the door and cried for help, but no one came. The fog was piling up, so she took off her skirt and used it to block the vent in the wall. Just as she sat down to catch her breath, she discovered there was another one above her.

She tried jumping several times, but because she wasn't tall enough, she was always half an arm's length away from the hole. With nothing around to step on, she had no choice but to give up.

forecourt.

Xiao Zong had no time to waste with the steward, so he rushed into the bridal chamber and ordered the King of Wu to send people to search for him.

Unable to deal with the guests, Li Rui summoned his men to the front courtyard and ordered them to find Madam Xiao.

Xiao Zong scanned the crowd but didn't see the servants Chu Lanyin had mentioned. He wondered if they had changed clothes or if the King of Wu had hidden them away.

The crowd dispersed, and he, accompanied by two servants, searched pond by pond. Noble ladies and gentlemen joined in, helping to find him.

A group of people searched the front yard and the bridal chamber from top to bottom, but they couldn't find Yuan Zhi. King Wu pretended to be concerned and said that Lady Xiao might have already gone home, and told him to go home and check.

Xiao Zong didn't believe his nonsense and suggested searching in the inner quarters. King Wu tried to stop him, saying that the inner quarters were full of women, and only his maids or noblewomen could search there.

Xiao Zong ignored him and went to search on his own.

After searching several places without finding Yuan Zhi, he suddenly saw thick smoke rising from the courtyard ahead.

He grabbed a servant and asked, "What place is that?"

"It is His Highness's courtyard."

It was past mealtime, yet a fire was burning at Li Rui's place, which was quite unusual. As if guided by something, Xiao Zong quickened his pace and entered Li Rui's courtyard.

The servants bowed as Xiao Zong approached, but he stepped past them, his eyes fixed on the wooden hut. The steward, sensing his intent, stepped forward and said, "King Wu is very particular about cleanliness. If he finds out someone entered the hut before him, he will surely be angry!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zong became even more convinced that Yuan Zhi was inside. Ignoring the steward's advice, he walked straight towards the wooden house...

The surrounding air was getting thinner and thinner, so Yuan Zhi moved to the door, trying to breathe some fresh air. However, the crack in the door was too narrow, and the little air she could get was far from enough.

The inner garment was soaked by the water mist, almost transparent in color, and stuck stickily to the skin.

She untied the ribbons of her bodice around her neck to make herself more comfortable. Although she looked disheveled, she was about to die, so she couldn't care less.

The process of waiting to die was long and agonizing. At this moment, she was too weak to shout. Taking a breath felt like she was about to drown.

Unfortunately, the water was boiling, scalding hot, and Yuan Zhi felt as if her internal organs were being cooked through. She pulled out the hairpin and stabbed it into the side of her neck, intending to give herself a quick death.

boom--

The door was then violently kicked open, the door panel slammed against the wall, and the wooden house shook violently.

Xiao Zong flicked his sleeves to ward off the rising steam, searching around, his voice tense: "Yuan Zhi! Where are you?"

The golden hairpin fell to the ground with a "clink," and Xiao Zong turned around at the sound, seeing Yuan Zhi leaning against the door, barely alive.

"Husband..."

Xiao Zong brushed the wet hair from her forehead. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

He picked her up and rushed out. The servants from the small kitchen ran over to explain, but he shouted angrily, "Anyone who dares to step forward will be killed without mercy!"

He moved Yuanzhi to the well-ventilated corridor and used his sleeve as a fan to keep cooling her down.

Chu Lanyin and Dou Zhao arrived with the Leopard Guards, followed by the King of Wu, Yuan Ying, and a group of guests.

As the daylight dimmed, the maids carried lanterns to illuminate the lives of the nobles. King Wu raised his chin, gesturing for a maid to present a lantern to the commander.

The maid walked timidly down the corridor, but Dou Zhao drew his sword and shouted, "Who dares to approach without the master's order!"

Li Rui's face darkened. "Look carefully! This is the Prince of Wu's residence, not the Leopard Guard! How dare you run wild in a prince's mansion!"

Yuan was barely breathing. Xiao Zong gave her the life-saving pill he carried with him, stepped over the railing, and came to the King of Wu.

"My wife nearly lost her life at the banquet held at the Prince's residence. Is this how the Prince of Wu treats his guests?"

The guests craned their necks to look down the corridor, trying to see what had happened to Madam Xiao, but they couldn't see a single person.

The steward knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably: "Your Highness, you were recently drugged with aphrodisiacs, and the poison in your body has not yet been cleared. The imperial physician said that you need to steam yourself for a while every day."

"We wanted to heat up the wooden house first before inviting you over, but we didn't know Madam Xiao would be inside. It was truly unintentional on our part. Please forgive us, Your Highness and Lord Xiao!"

The person in charge understood that at this point, it was crucial to clarify His Highness's connection to the matter. As long as His Highness was alright, they would be fine.

Chu Lanyin shouted, "You scoundrels, you're lying through your teeth! The wooden house is so close to the kitchen, how could you not hear your sister-in-law calling for help?"

The steward said aggrievedly, "With all the clattering of pots and pans in the kitchen, how could we possibly hear anything from next door? The others were gathering firewood outside and didn't hear anything either, which shows that Madam Xiao wasn't actually calling for help the whole time."

"Besides, this is His Highness's courtyard. Whether Madam Xiao did it out of playfulness or for some other reason, she trespassed and caused an accident, so she should take responsibility for it herself!"

Chu Lan was so angry she was practically spitting fire. "You're talking nonsense! My cousin-in-law knows her place. She would never come to the inner quarters without the master's permission!"

The steward scoffed, "Madam Xiao is right there. She didn't come on her own. Who could force her to come?"

Chu Lanyin said, "After the banquet, the concubine sent someone to invite my cousin-in-law, and many people saw it. After that, my cousin-in-law never came back."

She turned to the group of women and said, “Do you all remember? When we went to make a ruckus in the bridal chamber, we saw several maids carrying out a large box. That box was big enough to hide a person. I suspect that my cousin-in-law was put into that box and brought to the cabin by them!”

The women did indeed witness the scene Chu Lanyin described, and now that they thought about it, something did seem a bit off.

With such a large mansion, how could it not accommodate Yuan Ying's dowry?

Yuan Ying stepped forward to defend herself: "Miss Chu is so certain that she believes I am the murderer. May I ask, do you have any evidence?"